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January 13, 2009

Geithner thinks he’s above financial and immigration law?

Wundebar, but not surprising. President-elect Barack Obama’s Treasury Secretary-designee, Timothy Geithner, allegedly failed to pay FICA taxes for himself for several years. That said, tis true, we have new information that could keep the teapot boiling.

That said, per the Senate Finance Committee (PDF), although audited by the IRS in 2006 over the back taxes for his time working for the International Monetary Fund, Geithner didn’t pony up the amount of back taxes he owed until Dec. 5 of last year, after Obama nominated him.

And, this leads to other questions.

No, Geithner is not a tax lawyer, but did nobody inform him that he would be considered self-employed at IMF? Considering the WSJ claims this isn’t the first such case, isn’t there some responsibility somewhere.

Second, re Obama’s vetting process. Who first spotted this? Did somebody find out Geithner hadn’t paid the back taxes, or did he volunteer the info? Does this have any reflection on the vetting of Bill Richardson?

The immigration issue may or may not be a bit more serious, even though the woman was a legal resident. Not serious from Geithner's part as much as ... how do you let your papers lapse? And, given the update on Geithner's tax info, how much do we trust what he's saying about the nanny?

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